Thursday, 28 November 2013

It’s been quite a while since my last update while I was
waiting for the nice man to come and reconnect my broadband at my new house,
but I’m finally back online. I’ve got a
list of things to talk about (Second Thoughts is here, Netrunner will be
drafting, Worlds decks, the resurgence of interest in Jinteki) and I’m sure I’ll
get to them at some point, but what I want to do first is pick up where I left
off in my last blog.

If you remember where I left you it was with the sad
realisation that I was just playing the same old decks –
another local tournament had passed by with me playing Chaos Theory and NBN Tagn Bag. Not only did I not do particularly well
(which was mostly crummy luck) but I was actually pretty bored of myself for
being so uncreative. Since then I’ve
gone out of my way to try a bunch of different decks and factions and today I
want to talk about the ID that has got under my skin recently: Rielle “Kit”
Peddler.

Rielle, or “Kit” to her friends, has a very interesting and
unique ability that requires a dedicated deck to fully take advantage of what
she can do. This isn’t like a Kate
McCaffrey, Whizzard or Andromeda – an ability that’s just plain good no matter
what you do – Kit needs your love and attention from the first card you put
into your deck right up to the last.
Played to full effect Kit’s ability is very powerful, allowing you to
break through Sentry or Barrier ice without needing to install an appropriate
breaker. That means you can focus on
building an efficient Code Gate breaking rig and then leverage that against
your opponent’s big Ice.

Broadly
speaking there are two main routes you can take with Kit which are defined by
the Decoder suite they choose to deploy. I’m going to take a look at both versions (then a hybrid third) but
first I want to talk briefly about how playing against Kit makes life difficult
for the Corporation.

Playing The
Quizmaster

Sitting down to play against Kit signals to the Corp that
you are going to be punishing Code Gates and it forces the Corp into changing
their play style, which something not every deck or every player can do.

The first thing the Corp has to cope with is that they must
build EVERY server at least two Ice deep – the first Ice you meet each turn is
going to be a Code Gate and the Corp has to assume you thought far enough ahead
to bring a Decoder or two so the first Ice on a server can pretty much be written
off. The Corp has to have an End The Run
piece of Ice at the base of a server with something else in front of it to
absorb Kit’s ability and this puts an added tax onto the Corporation ,
particularly in the early game when they can usually rely on a cheap End The
Run piece of Ice keeping the runner out.

The Corp now has to spend extra clicks and credits installing
and rezzing Ice when they’d rather find something else to do with their time,
like scoring Agendas. This is fine so
long as they have lots of Ice to install, but Ice-light decks may simply never
be able to find enough Ice to build deep servers and that makes them easy prey
for Kit.

The second problem for the Corp is that suddenly the order
in which the Ice is positioned in their servers matters A LOT, and it’s not
always something the Corp has control over.
If the Corp has installed Enigma and Wall of Static on a server then it
could either be an effective barrier or a total waste of time, depending on
which was installed first. If Enigma is
the base of the server with the Wall outside it then Kit can run the server,
turn the Wall into a Code Gate and break it then break the Enigma because it’s
already a Code Gate. If the Ice were the
other way around then Kit changes Enigma into a Code Gate (big woop!), but then
hits an ETR Barrier she might not have a Fracter for.

Remembering to install Code Gates outside of other Ice isn’t
exactly rocket science but the Corp doesn’t always have a choice. If the Corp draws Enigma and NEXT Bronze in
their opening hand then the Corp has nothing but Code Gates to play and is in
real trouble from the first turn! This
is one of the hidden strengths of Kit – some perfectly good Corp hands are
auto-mulligans against her.

Enough about the problems Kit causes the Corp, let’s look at
the two main way of building a Kit deck…

Yog.0saurus

Rielle "Kit" Peddler: Transhuman

By Mikhail Honoridez (WINNER Plugged-In Tour Toronto)

Event (23)

3x Diesel

3x Dirty Laundry

2x Escher

2x Infiltration

3x Modded

2x Scavenge

3x Sure Gamble

2x Test Run

3x Tinkering

Hardware (7)

2x Dinosaurus

2x Plascrete Carapace

3x R&D Interface

Resource (3)

3x Professional Contacts

Icebreaker (8)

3x Atman

1x Deus X

1x Femme Fatale *

3x Yog.0 ***

Program (4)

3x Datasucker ***

1x Imp ***

The Yog.0saurus archetypeg is based around the dreaded Yog.0
Icebreaker, which walks past any number Code Gate subroutines FOR FREE assuming
it has the strength to do so. The
synergy with Kit’s ability is obvious and persuasive – make something else a
Code Gate and you’ll be able to break that for free too! Neural Katana? 0 to break.
Rototurret? 0 to break. Ice Wall?
0 to break.

From the decision to run Yog.0 as your main go-to Icebreaker
you can follow a train of logical progression that fills out half the deck
before you really have to start thinking too hard.

“If only Yog.0 had more strength” +3 Dinosaurus

“Or I could lower the Ice’s strength” +3 Datasucker

“If I’m already playing Datasucker I could use Atman to
break the other ice” +3 Atman

“I need to make sure I can find my Yog.0” +3 Diesel, +3 Professional Contacts, +2 Test
Run

“I don’t need much money to run but installing Yog.0 and
Dinosaurus sure is expensive” +3 Modded

Once you’ve made those decisions and included the obvious
economy cards like Sure Gamble and Dirty Laundry, and the Shaper all-star
R&D Interface you’re only looking at a few slots left. Mikhail opted to maximise his ability to
disrupt the best laid plans of the Corp by running Escher and Tinkering, both
of which are Events that really shine in Kit decks. Escher is a great card anyway, but when the
order and type of Ice matters so much to the Corp it becomes even more
devastating in Kit decks, where you can shuffle Ice around to create a server
purely of Code Gates over R&D, or simply move the Code Gates back to the
base of a server to ensure you can break through. Tinkering is the final nail in the coffin of
the Corp’s attempts to keep you out, flipping a Sentry into a Code Gate just at
the vital moment for you to run in through a seemingly-impenetrable server to
steal the Agenda inside.

One card worth highlighting for its tricksy nature in
Yog.0saurus is Scavenge. Scavenge
benefits from the fact that you have to trash a program as part of its cost
BEFORE you choose what program you want to install from the trash. That
loophole allows you to choose to return the same program, effectively for free
because you just discounted the install cost of the program by, uh, the cost of
the program! Why does that matter? Well it matters for being able to install
Yog.0 early then ‘moving’ it onto the Dinosaurus later in the game to benefit
from the additional strength. It also
lets you play tricks with Femme Fatale by re-targetting her bypass ability onto
new Ice.

The strength of Yog.0saurus is that it creates an extremely
efficient and powerful rig that can crack through most Ice FOR FREE then has
the dreaded Atman as backup for everything else. The weakness of this version of Kit is that
the whole thing costs a ton of time and money to set up – 5 for Yog.0, 5 for
Dinosaurus, god knows how much more for your Atman and Datasuckers combo. Kit’s natural strength is in the early game,
when the Corp hasn’t got deep Ice forts, and although Yog.0saurus can get
running early with a naked Yog.0 this deck is really about settling in for the
long haul. The other main Kit option is
the exact opposite…

Where the Yog.0saurus deck is all about Yog.0 this deck is
based around the unusual Cyber Cypher decoder, which comes complete with its
own strengths and restrictions. Firstly
the strengths – for just 2 credits you get a RIDICULOUSLY powerful decoder and that means you
can break through some of the biggest Ice in the game very efficiently, so long
as they’re a Code Gate. Because Cyber
Cypher only costs 2 to install you can start doing this very early, drilling
through the Corp’s defences with minimal effort. BUT (and it’s a pretty big but) you have to
nominate a server for Cyber Cypher. NO
takebacks, no switches. Tell the Corp
where you’re going to go, then go. In my
version of the deck it’s almost always R&D in the first instance, which I focus on with R&D
Interface and Indexing to race to Agendas while paying relatively little
attention to remotes. Later I can add new Cyber Cyphers and target other servers, but my primary target is R&D.

Where Yog.0 is ably supporting by Dinosaurus the Cyber
Cypher was made even more efficient by the release of Lockpick in Opening Moves
and I turn to the unsung Zu.13 instead of Gordian Blade as my backup Decoder
that can break any server, keeping all my install costs as cheap as possible to
ensure I make a swift start to the game.
Instead of investing in the Atman option I use Kit’s precious 10 points
of Influence to splash in a Corroder and Ninja that I can Test Run for if need
be.

While Yog.0 decks focus on building their huge rig of Atman
breakers and Datasuckers the Cyber Cypher archetype remains aggressive and goes
on the offensive, trying to prevent the Corp from building deep Ice towers by
removing Ice. I’ve seen pretty much
every variation on this theme, from players bringing in Forged Activation
Orders or Emergency Shutdowns from Criminal, to Crescentus and Krakens, to my
version of Parasites. I feel Parasite
combines well with Cyber Cypher – the Cypher can break big Ice so long as it’s
a Code Gate, and Parasite clears out the small Ice that might try to get in the
way. I bring Clone Chips and Test Runs
to recur Parasite and keep on top of the Corp’s Ice towers, ensuring Kit can
keep getting in.

You may have noticed that the Modded got lost in the
shuffle, and replaced with Personal Workshops.
That is simply a function of how cheap this deck is, meaning there were
hardly any cards that benefited from the full Modded discount! I don’t think I’ve ever played a deck where
the install costs were so uniformly low and the additional of Personal Workshop has
been a good addition, not just giving me Clone Chips and Lockpicks for free but
allowing me to control when my cards are paid for and keeping options open
until the last minute. A Cyber Cypher on
Personal Workshop can still be targeted on any server, and I don’t have to
decide to pay for R&D Interface until I’ve seen just how much I’ll need to
spend to break the Ice in front of R&D.

Compared to Yog.0saurus this deck is hugely aggressive, hunting
out Agendas in R&D and breaking through servers in the early game. The eventual rig you build is less daunting
than a full Yog.0/Atman rig so late game is more challenging but in Parasite
and Escher you have tools to keep the Corp vulnerable and ensure you can keep
hitting R&D as hard as possible. I’ve
had a blast playing this deck and won FAR more games than I’ve lost, partly
because Corps are so unfamiliar with how to play against it, but I will give
one note of caution: damn, this deck is tough to play. The deck gives you power in very focussed
ways and it’s a real mental workout to keep tabs on how you can keep applying
that power to the game. A lot of fun,
but there’s rarely a point where you sit back and school the Corp with an
indomitable rig – you run along the knife edge the whole way.

I mentioned earlier that there was a third hybrid version of
Kit and what I was referring to was this deck, which appeared in the Top32 of
the World Championships earlier this month...

Rielle "Kit" Peddler

By Kevin Delger (Top 32, 2013 World Championships)

Icebreakers (7)

1 Corroder **

2 Cyber-Cypher

1 Mimic *

1 Gordian Blade

1 Yog.0 *

1 Femme Fatale *

Programs (5)
3 Self-Modifying Code

1 Parasite **

1 Datasucker *

Resources

3 Kati Jones

3 Daily Casts

Hardware

2 Clone Chip

3 R&D Interface

1 Dinosaurus

Events

2 Diesel

3 Modded

3 Scavenge

2 Stimhack **

2 Tinkering

2 Dirty Laundry

3 Test Run

1 Escher

3 Sure Gamble

Kevin Delger’s deck uses Self-Modifying Code as the basis of
a deck that can search for the best breakers for the current problems. Because he’s playing Kit that solution will
often be Cyber Cypher, but he also has a Yog.0 and a single Dinosaurus in his
deck. This deck brings elements from
mine (Cyber Cypher, natural breakers & Parasite recursion) and elements
from the Yog.0saurus deck from Toronto (Yog.0, many of the Events) although it
abandons the Professional Contacts that we both played in favour of the
Self-Modifying Code/Stimhack combination to find his killer cards. Scavenge returns here but pulls double duty as it also allows Kevin to return his Parasites, and also to return Self-Modifying Codes and search for more key cards.

The success of this deck at the World Championships highlights
the creativity that is possible within the Kit archetypes (which, to be honest,
I didn’t think existed before I tried making a Kit deck myself) and also that
they can be a competitive dark horse in tournaments. Kit is certainly not as strong as either
Account Siphon Andromeda, or Atman Kate McCaffrey but she has a lot more to
offer than most players would think, and asks awkward questions of even the best
Corp decks and players.

If you’re looking for a bit of a break from the norm then I’m
confident you’ll enjoy solving a puzzle
or two with Rielle Peddler – I’ve certainly had a blast playing with her!

Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Apologies for the hiatus between blogs - ever since the job I pulled last week on the Weyland Corp to reveal their plans for global domination I've had a Hunter hot on my trail. The only way I could avoid a knock on the door from some unpleasant men with bad intentions was to move out of my current pad and find alternate accommodation.
While I wait to be plugged back into the Net at my new apartment I'm afraid you will have to show a little patience. I will be back soon with more decks, insights and exploits. Until then, here's a picture of Pikachu beating up a kitten...

About The Author

David Sutcliffe has over 20 years experience of competitive TCG, LCGs and Miniatures gaming since 2000 he has written for a number of outlets, including official strategy analysis and event coverage for Magic: The Gathering and the World of Warcraft TCG from World and Continental Championships, Pro Tours, Grand Prix and Darkmoon Faires.

In December 2015 he ended his long love affair with shuffling cardboard and switched to rolling dice instead. David has moved over to the X-Wing Miniatures Game to begin his new blog about that game: Stay On The Leader.